Automatic car-coupling.



G.-E. MUTE & P. A. VOEGELE. AUTOMATIC GAR GOUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19, 1912.

1,069,280, Patented Augs, 191s.

wax/mo illbUTiTED TATE FATTENT FFT GEORGE E. MUTI-I AND FRANK A. VOEGELE, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO.

AUTOMATIC CARCOUPLING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 5,1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE E. MUTE and FRANK A. VOEGELE, citizens of the United States, residing at Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Car-Couplings; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to car couplings of the J anney type, and more especially to horizontal sliding latches such as are employed therein for holding the jaw in locked position; and the object of the same is to produce an improved latch and operating mechanism therefor. This and other objects are accomplished by constructing the car coupling in the manner hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 a plan View of this improved drawhead; Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view through the same, showing the parts of our improvement in place, and Fig. l is a cross section on the line ta of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective detail of the spring, Fig. 6 of the pivot pin, Fig. 7 of the brace, and Fig. 8 of the latch.

In the drawings the letter D designates the draw bar carrying the coupling head H, S is the cushion spring, and J is the substantially L-shaped jaw mounted on a pivot P in the head H-all as usual in the J anney type of car couplings. Coming now more particularly to the details of the present invention, a spring 1 throws the aw from the full line position in Fig. 1 to the dotted line position thereof when the latch is retracted, and thereby automatically opens the jaw so that it may be coupled with a com- 45 panion coupling. The jaw or knuckle is substantially L-shaped in plan view, its

tail piece 2 swinging into the hollow head H as its jaw moves to engage the jaw of the companion coupling, and the back of the 50 tail piece is rounded at 3 while its inner end is cut off on a straight line 4 parallel with the line of draft, thereby forming a face against which the latch contacts to hold the knuckle in coupled position as will be described.

The latch proper is a bolt 5 sliding longitudinally in a guide 6 and having at its front end a head 7 between which and said guide is disposed an expansive spring 8 coiled around the shank of the bolt and pressing the latter normally forward; and the head 7 has a fiat face 14: at one side and a rounded face 13 at the other, the rounded face contacting with the rounded face 3 of the tail piece 2 as the knuckle is swung to a closed position and thereby causing the inward movement of the bolt against the tension of its spring, and the flat face lt contacting with the fiat face at of the tail piece when the knuckle stands in locked position as shown in Fig. 1.

Coacting with the latch bolt above described is what we shall call a brace which forms one of the principal features of the present invention. In effect it is a small lever whose inner arm 18 is forked as at 19 and pivotally connected by a pin 17 passing through eyes or holes in the fork arms and through the head 7 of the bolt between said arms; whose body is enlarged between its inner and outer arms as at 20 and pierced with a square hole 21; and whose outer arm 22 is adapted to make contact with a stop 23 formed within the head H. This entire brace member is disposed to one side of the line of the latch, as best seen in Fig. 1, and swings on its pivotal point as the latch moves forward and rearward, but its primary function is to resist lateral strain of the tail piece 2 of the knuckle when draft is applied to the jaw in the act of drawing the car. It will be clear that at that time the entire knuckle tends to turn around its main pivot P, and its tail piece 2standing at about right angles to its jaw Jtends to move laterally across the interior of the head H; the result would be that the latch 5 would bedeflected laterally if it were not for some brace behind it, and the presence of this brace takes the strain off the latch and permits the shank of the latter to move loosely in its guide 6 as will be clear. Moreover the contact of the outer arm 22 with the stop 23 prevents the spring 8 from projecting the latch bolt 5 too far forward. Finally, the contact of the outer end 24 with the inner wall of the head H assists the pivotal point of the brace in re sisting the lateral strain which is thrown upon it by the tail piece 2.

The operating mechanism by means of which this improved car coupling is uncoupled, consists of a pivot pin for the brace and whose details of construction are best seen in Fig. 6. This pin has a square head at its upper end adapted to receive a wrench or other piece of machinery by which it may be turned, beneath the head it has an enlarged collar 26 which rests upon the upper side of the coupler head H, be neath the collar in turn this shank is rounded as at 27, beneath that it is squared as at 28 to fit the square hole 21 in the brace, and beneath the squared portion the lower end of the pin is reduced and rounded as at 29 so that. it is jouriniled in a suitable opening in the lower side of the head H. In order to prevent its dislodginent we attach some fastening device to its lower end, such as the split pin 30 shown in this view. It is obvious that when it to be removed, this device can first be withdrawn and then the entire pivot pin lifted out of place; this frees the brace which in turn can be swung outthe open front end of the head H, and then the brace and the latch 5 with its spring 8 can be entirely withdrawn longitudinally of the head so that they or the parts of the head can be repaired or replaced at leisure. But with the parts in their proper position as shown in Fig. 1, it is impossible for them to become disarranged even though the split pin should break or fall out, unless the pivot pin should be jiggled entirely out of position.

lhe operation of this device will now be clear. W' hen the knuckle is closed as seen in Fig. 1, forward draft on the aw J tends to turn the tail piece 2 toward the front end of the latch, and this tendency is resisted by the brace which is pivoted to the head of the latch ant itself mounted. on the pivot pin, shown in Fig. 6, and its bracing eflect is increased by the fact that its outer end 2% rests against the inner face of the wall of the drawhead H. When now it is desired to uncouple the cars, the application of a wrench to the squared head 25 of the pivot bolt permits the turning of the latter, so that the brace is rocked around its pivotal support and the latch is pushed to the rear in its guide 6 against the tension of the spring 8.

o have not illustrated the wrench which is to be applied to the squared head 26, because, in fact, this might be one element of an uncoupling mechanism which could lead to the sides of the car or the top of a box car and which forms no part of the present invention.

It is not necessary for the purposes of this specification to go into the materials, sizes, and the exact shape of parts.

What is claimed as new is:

In a car coupling, the combination with the draw head having an inwardly projecting stop within one of its side walls and a tubular guide standing along its transverse center, and the substantially L-shaped jaw pivoted near the other side of the draw head; of the latch comprising a bolt loosely mounted in said guide and an enlarged head at its front end having one front corner rounded off and its other side flattened to engage the tail piece of the jaw when the latter is closed, an expansive spring coiled on said bolt between said head and guide, an upright pivot pin squared at its upper end and having an enlarged collar beneath said end, rounded beneath said collar and journaled in the top of the draw head, squared beneath said rounded portion, and reduced and rounded at its lower end and journaled in the bottom of the draw head; and a brace mounted between its ends on the squared portion of said pivot )in and having its inner arm forked and pivoted astride the head of said bolt and its outer arm adapted to contact with the inner face of the side wall of the draw head and wit-h said stop on the latter when said bolt is projected forward.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE E. M UTH. FRANK A. VOEGELE. \Vitnesses GEO. T. RHODES, W. T. LEONARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, 1). (3. 

